Flooding is a natural disaster that can damage large areas in the vicinity of rivers, and in the case of flash floods, also in the vicinity of smaller streams. The Global Risks Report 2017 lists extreme weather events, of which flooding is the main risk in most countries, as the risk with the second highest potential impact and the highest likelihood of occurrence. It furthermore seems likely that climate change will aggravate flood impacts in many regions.
This report presents an assessment of the capacity for flood monitoring and early flood warning in 17 of the 22 countries which belong to the Eastern and Southern neighbourhood policy of the European Union and the enlargement candidate countries. Many of these receive external funding to improve their systems, but this is often on an ad hoc basis and through individual projects.